Employee Safety and Risk Management Program

This training webpage is USC Upstate’s primary means of employee safety training. This campus-wide resource is intended for use by all USC Upstate employees to facilitate and promote safety, health and environmental management. The safety of every employee, student, visitor and the environment is a primary consideration of USC Upstate. The content of this Employee Safety and Risk Management Program is intended to be an introduction to how university policies and procedures apply to all employees.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) believes that training is an essential part of every employer’s safety and health program for protecting workers from injuries and illnesses. That’s why OSHA training standards require employers to instruct employees in the safety and health aspects of their jobs. Other OSHA training standards make it employers’ responsibility to limit certain job assignments to only those employees who are "certified,' 'competent' or 'qualified'—meaning that the employees have already had appropriate training, inside or outside the workplace.

Many OSHA training standards state that employers must provide refresher training at specific intervals and keep records of all safety and health training they have provided. Records can provide evidence of the employer’s good faith and compliance with OSHA standards. Documentation allows companies to be able to assure OSHA accident investigators that they had provided the proper safety training to employees who were injured on the job.

How It WorksUSC Upstate uses two primary methods of training employees to meet the OSHA requirements—online training and face-to-face seminar training. The online training can be accessed at any time from any computer on campus or off campus. The face-to-face seminar training will be offered at least twice per year and the calendar of training will be published in advance.

Trainings are to be completed annually based on the fiscal year (July 1 - June 30) and not the calendar year (except facilities). There is no time limit to finish the trainings. They can be completed at your own pace, as long as they are submitted by June 30.

Online safety training for each occupational category consists of two sections: self-paced training and audio enhanced training. You must follow the instructions listed above each section to correctly document the completion of each safety component. To ensure adequate competency, a short quiz is included at the end of each training component. Each year, once all required trainings are completed with quiz scores of 80% or higher, you will receive a certificate documenting your achievement (example).

Instructions:

Click on the occupational category below which best corresponds to your position/department to download the training log as a PDF document.

Note: all administrative personnel, please choose "faculty/staff."

Using your computer's internet connection, complete all of the safety training components listed in the training log and the quiz at the end of each safety training component per the instructions listed above the section.

Note: the quiz scores for each safety training component are automatically sent to the training department.

Print the training log to check off training components as they are completed.

Athletics, health services, university police, lab personnel, maintenance, grounds and custodial: fill out and sign the "hepatitis B vaccine consent/declination form," which prints as a separate page with the training log. Mail the form along with the training log when completed.

Contact the Training Coordinator at ext. 5886/ lcaggiano@uscupstate.edu for help with this site and for records of previously completed trainings.

*NOTE: The online safety training is only general information that pertains to all employees of USC Upstate. For more detailed safety information pertaining to your specific position and duties, contact your department head or the Director of Risk Management at ext. 5905 /mbruce@uscupstate.edu.

This webpage is a work in progress. Please send us your comments and feedback so the safety training system can continue to improve!

NOTICE:An optimum safe environment can be achieved most effectively by early identification and understanding of safety issues; close interaction among managers, employees and students and adherence to the policy and guidance of this employee safety program. It is understood that we have many diverse types of work environments, and USC Upstate personnel should be working only with the proper equipment and procedures for which they have been trained in order to accomplish their assigned daily tasks. This safety overview is not intended to be a procedural manual for every environment; rather it should be used for general guidance. Specific hazardous conditions require specific control procedures that must be prepared by those having ownership of the hazard.

At any time, the university reserves its right to modify, change, suspend or cancel any part(s) of the policies, procedures and programs contained in this safety training program. The university will, at its discretion, make changes and develop new or revised policies and procedures from time to time. All changes to materials will be made according to established procedures. When possible and appropriate, the university will seek input from staff groups and administrators. When the university develops or modifies new policies, procedures and programs the modifications will be reflected in the Employee Safety and Risk Management Program.

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EVERY USC UPSTATE EMPLOYEE TO MAINTAIN A SAFE AND HEALTHY CAMPUS AND TO PROMOTE A RISK-FREE ENVIRONMENT FOR TEACHING, LEARNING AND WORKING, AND FOR COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES.

The information, instructions and guidance contained in these web pages pertain only to the University of South Carolina Upstate. Other institutions, firms, companies, industries and/or laboratories should not use or rely on this information without significant review and scrutiny as to its specific applicability. State and local laws, as well as regulations, restrictions, interpretations, guidelines and general practices specific to your institution, firm, company, industry or laboratory may differ for other institutions and firms located in other cities or states.

The University of South Carolina Upstate is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and masters degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia, 30033 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of USC Upstate. Comments or Complaints?